Every January, we pause to reflect, educate, and mobilize during Human Trafficking Awareness Month, but for survivors and those on the front lines, this work is year-round. It is lived. It is breathed. It is often led by those who once had their voices stolen but now use them to change the world.
This month, we do more than raise awareness. We honor.
We honor the resilience, brilliance, and leadership of those who have not only survived, but who have led. Eight Veteran Survivor Leaders whose courage has not only paved the way for others, but has shaped the very foundation of the modern anti-trafficking movement.
These leaders did not wait for permission to speak.
They did not wait for systems to catch up or for society to “get it.”
They rose, again and again, turning pain into purpose and silence into strategy.
They are policy shapers. Movement makers. Community builders.
They have sat across from lawmakers, trained law enforcement, written legislation, spoken at the United Nations, mentored fellow survivors, built organizations, and challenged the world to see trafficking not through the lens of pity, but through the lens of power, dignity, and justice.
They are the proof that survivors are not broken, they are brilliant.
They are not a risk to be managed, they are experts to be trusted.
And they are not the exception, they are the engine of this movement.
As we celebrate Human Trafficking Awareness Month, let us not center only the statistics, the horrors, or the headlines. Let us center the leaders. Let us name the names of those who’ve carved paths in concrete, who have stood in the gaps, and who’ve opened doors that once seemed sealed shut.
To the eight Veteran Survivor Leaders we honor this month:
Your leadership has made the impossible feel possible.
Your voices have disrupted silence.
Your lives have changed, and continue to change, countless others.
We thank you.
We stand with you.
We follow your lead.
Because when survivors lead, systems change.
And when we listen, uplift, and invest in that leadership, we all rise.
We honor:
- Audrey Morrissey
- Autumn Burris
- Beth Jacobs
- Christine Stark
- Kathleen Mitchell
- Marian Hatcher
- Norma Hotaling
- Vednita Carter
Click on each powerful voice above as they answer the question, “What does Survivor Leadership mean to you?”—and more. Their words are not just reflections; they are declarations of strength, wisdom, and the unshakable will to lead, transform, and liberate.